WASHINGTON ALERT
Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Office; Jeff Hannapel & Christian Richter, The Policy Group, Washington, D.C.
Administration Moving Quickly on Environmental Regulations
WITH FEWER THAN 1,000 DAYS LEFT IN THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION, REGULATORY ACTION IS HEATING UP. Te Obama administration has
fewer than 1,000 days remaining in its term to enact its environmental regulatory agenda. Te U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency (EPA) is aggressively writing regulatory lan- guage for a host of rules that address the administration's concerns about global warming. Highlighted below are a few
of the key rules of interest to the metalcasting industry that EPA has recently issued and/or will be releas- ing in the months ahead: Final Standards for Cooling Water
Intake Structures at Power Plants and Other Facilities—EPA released its final section 316(b) rule to establish performance standards for the regula- tion of cooling water intake structures at existing power plants and other facilities. Te standards are intended to protect fish and other aquatic organ- isms by minimizing capture both in screens attached to intake structures and in the actual intake structures. Te rule will not require all existing plants to use closed-loop systems, known as cooling towers. Environmental groups
ON THE HILL
Water Infrastructure Bill Clears Congress
Following months of behind-the- scenes negotiations, both the U.S. Sen- ate and House approved the conference report to the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) - H.R. 3080 in May. The measure authorizes billions of dollars for ports, flood control projects and other water projects across the country that will require a significant amount of castings. The report requires the projects use iron and steel products produced in the U.S. for the construction, alteration, maintenance or repair of a public water system or treatment works project. At the time of press, the bill was headed to
14 | MODERN CASTING June 2014 the president's desk for his signature.
Senate Committee Approves Six-Year Highway Reauthorization Bill
Prior to the Memorial Day recess, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously approved a six-year, $256 billion transpor- tation bill (S. 2322) that will reauthorize the gas tax and provide funding for transpor- tation projects. The measure will keep fed- eral highway programs going for the next six years at current levels, plus inflation. It remains unclear whether Congress will act in time to prevent a disruption in trans- portation aid to states this summer. The Department of Transportation estimates the federal Highway Trust Fund, which
bankrolls 52% of annual state spending on highway, bridge and transit construc- tion, will go broke at the end of August. However, disruptions in payments to states could occur as early as July. As suppliers to the transit and construction equipment sector, metalcasters will be affected directly by what action or lack of action Congress takes on this issue. S. 2322 will now go to the full Senate for consideration, where it will be com- bined with measures from the Senate Committees on Finance, Commerce, Sci- ence and Transportation, and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.
For additional information, contact Stephanie Salmon, AFS Washington Off ice,
202-842-4864,
ssalmon@afsinc.org.
whose lawsuits prompted EPA to pro- pose and finalize this rule have already signaled their intent to challenge the rule over EPA’s failure to require cool- ing water towers or other stringent con- trol measures for all affected facilities. Key Date: EPA released the
Cooling Water Intake Structure rule this May. Existing Power Plant Rule—EPA is expected to unveil the nation's first carbon emissions limits for exist- ing power plants, the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gases. Tis rule is expected to be the most significant climate action the administration will undertake. No matter how much
flexibility the EPA’s rule offers, some consumers will have to pay to comply. States dependent on coal would feel the biggest hit. Some states may have an easier time than others to meet the rule’s requirements. At least 30 states already have laws requiring some portion of their power to come from renewable sources like wind, solar and hydropower, and they might be al- lowed to count those programs toward compliance with the rule. Key Date: Te proposed rule is
scheduled to be released June 2. Ozone Rule—Under the current
standard issued in 2008, ground-level ozone levels are currently set at 75 parts per billion, but according to a draft doc- ument released in February, the agency is considering tightening the standard to 60 parts per billion. Tightened stan- dards could impose unachievable emis- sion reduction requirements on virtually every part of the nation, including rural and undeveloped areas. Tese could be the costliest EPA regulations ever. Key Date: EPA is expected to release
a proposal for the new ozone rule by December 1.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60